The Department will appoint two mentors for each Senior Fellow, who are allocated by the Head of Department after discussion with the Research Committee and the individual Fellow.

The Centre for Personal and Professional Development facilitates learning opportunities for all university staff, enabling them to achieve their potential and contribute to the provision of excellent teaching and research in the University. The CPPD runs numerous courses that include Educational Development, Professional Development, IT skills and languages. These are free and open to all members of the university. They are advertised in CPPD brochures and on their website and from the department by e-mail. There is also a dedicated Careers Advisor for postdoctoral members of the School of Biological Sciences or email Programme for principal investigators Additional documentation, including a RCUK/CRAC Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, can be found as a briefing for staff developers with a full concordat.

Other courses are available from the Graduate School of Biological Sciences, which looks after the educational and career needs of graduate students and early career researchers in the Faculties of Biology, Clinical Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and in their affiliated institutions.

Full training in supervising undergraduate students can be obtained though both graduate school courses, as well as from additional educational resources posted on the electronic database Moodle which is used to support all teaching resources.

Training in safety is compulsory and at some time during the first year of joining the Department, all new staff must attend a safety course (usually in the first or second week of October, and occasionally repeated on an ad hoc basis).